Ran Regev's Family History

Paternal Lineage

Hailing from Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry, my paternal grandparents resided in Poland. My grandmother, Leah Sova, grew up in the quaint Polish town of Bedzin, just outside Katowice. Her parents, Aba Sova and Batya, along with their extended family, were devout Orthodox Jews. Bedzin boasted a lively Jewish community, with more than half of the town’s population being Jewish. Known as “Yerushalayim de Zeglembie” (the Jerusalem of the region), Bedzin held a special place in their hearts.

When the Germans invaded the Polish border on September 1st, 1939, my grandmother Leah made a bold decision not to wait for the Nazis and instead fled with her newborn baby and a friend (Her husband was drafted into the Polish military). Despite strong objections and being placed under a “herem” by her family, she left behind her entire family. She recounted to me that a tragic fate befell most of her village, as they were gathered in a barn and perished in a fire by the blood thirsty Nazi’s. The remaining Jewish residents were deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp.

While escaping towards Russia, the baby tragically passed away from starvation, and my grandmother, in denial, delayed his burial for weeks. They journeyed eastward, managing to cross the Ural Mountains and eventually finding safety in the Asian region of the Caucasus.

After the war, Leah returned to Poland only to discover that her entire family had perished. Her friend Miriam with whom she returned from Russia introduced her to her brother Yaakov Rogetkevitz, a young Jewish survivor from the outskirts of Warsaw who had fought against the Nazis as part of the Russian army. After it was officially declared that Leah’s first husband perished, Leah & Yaakov wed and settled in the coastal town of Szczecin, where they had three children: Zvi, Batya, and Abraham (Avi).

Zvi was originally named Heinrich (with a Jewish name of Yehezkel, named after Zvi’s grandfather). Upon arriving to Israeli his name was changed to a more modern name – Zvi.

Despite the tragic events of the Holocaust, growing up in Poland was an extraordinary experience, especially amidst the constraints of the USSR iron curtain. Antisemitism was everywhere and they would often find graffiti saying, “Jews to Palestine” (this just few years after Hitler’s famous saying “Jews out”).

The Jewish Holidays were celebrated with windows and blinds shut so the neighbors don’t hear it. At the young age of 11, my father decided had enough of Poland and chose to make “Aliya” to Israel. Leah wanted to but Yaakov was very hesitant. The barely 10 year old Heinreich (Yechezkel/Zvi) presented his family with a choice – accompany him or remain in Poland. They all migrated to Israel. As the boat they were on approached the lights of “Haifa” on the boat, my father recalls tears of joy, feeling like he had finally found his home. The family settled in the border town of Kiryat Shmona, where my grandparents resided until their passing. My grandmother worked at the nearby Kibbutz, while my grandfather pursued a career as a carpenter.

Years after they discovered that Leah’s first husband survived and has also made his way to Israel. My father and grandfather even went to meet with him in the 1960’s.

The conditions in Israel were rough, no running water and no indoor plumbing. Still, Zvi was ecstatic with joy, he loved Israel with everything that it had to offer, the weather, the people, the diversity of many people from so many different countries that lived together in harmony despite not sharing a common language at first. All the kids played outside, and they had a wonderful childhood.

This was a far contrast to the depressing life in Poland.

Maternal Lineage

My maternal lineage includes Zohara Ben Simon, my grandmother, who was raised in Tetouan, a city in northern Morocco near the Strait of Gibraltar. She spoke Arabic, French, and Haketia, an ancient Jewish Spanish dialect. My maternal grandfather, Nissim Ohayon, born in Morocco to a family of Russian descent, shared a story of his grandfather and brother’s journey from Russia to Israel, Egypt, and finally settling in Morocco.

Nissim was a good friend of Zohara’s brother and that’s how they met. Zohar traveled to Marrakesh to study design and sewing and they corresponded with each other.

Nissim served in World War II with the French Foreign Legion, fighting against the Nazis and concluding the war in Berlin after their successful conquest. He continued to correspond with Zohara and after the war ended, they met and got married. They resided in Safi, had five children in Morocco and in 1954, they all left Morocco on their journey to Israeli. They stayed in a camp in the city of Marseille France and arrived at Israel in 1955. The family was sent to Kiryat Shmona on the northern border. The trip to Kiryat Shmona was in an open truck while being rained on. The family settled in a metal hut without electricity, no running water, no indoor restroom, all this in the cold northern winter with temperatures often reaching freezing. At night they had to close the lights to avoid being targeted by Lebanese and Syrian missiles. At night they would hear the jackals that would often hunt their chickens. After a while they were upgraded to a wooden shack with running water…

Despite the many hardships, the lack of food that was supplied via foods stamps they were happy and delighted to be in the forefather’s land of Israel.

After 5 years they moved to a regular house, and they danced and rejoiced with happiness.

The City of Kiryat Shmona has been consistently bombarded from 1968 to this very day.

In Israeli they had 4 more children, a total of 5 girls and 4 boys. Nissim worked as a carpenter in Kfar Giladi Kibbutz, while Zohara worked as a cook for another kibbutz.

Nissim was drafted and fought in the 1956 war between Israeli and Egypt.